When my darling daughter was young and couldn't or wouldn't communicate what was going on with her... Rather then asking her questions, we would draw pictures together.

Then we discussed the pictures. Sometimes the most amazing, thoughtful things would come out of her mouth. Here are the stories that she told me about life with crossed eyes and with fixed eyes.

Natasha has congenital esotropia (specific type of crossed or squinty eyes) which was fixed with out patient surgery. I say "has" because this is genetic condition that she inherited from her parents. If she decides to give birth to children, she will need to watch for it. Congenital esotropia typically becomes very obvious at 1 year of age.

Natasha's various challenges (ADHD, Dyslexia, Memory Issues, SID, PTSD during her first year home) continually cause communication issues. So I am always on the look out for different ways to share information. Recently I discovered another helpful method to communicate emotions/thoughts.

When Natasha is about to fall off the cliff into la-la land (disregulate) she says "Lima Bean". When I hear "Lima Bean", I stop everything and try to help her recover her control... help her stay regulated.

On Sunday, I was in the middle of a lecture... She started screaming at me "LIMA BEAN LIMA BEAN LIMA BEAN LIMA BEAN LIMA BEAN LIMA BEAN LIMA BEAN LIMA BEAN".

Whoa.... I was stressed and lecturing her (You would think that she could get the pants into the hamper. The clothing was on the floor about 2 inches away from the hamper.). And I had become a stress carrier.

I stopped the lecture and we played a card game. Doing a familiar and fun activity is always a good way for my darling and ME to destress.